1. ✠ A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (5:17-37)
Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place.
Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments
will be called greatest in the kingdom of heaven. I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees,
you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
“You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment. But I say to you, whoever is angry with brother will be liable to judgment; and whoever says to brother, ‘Raqa,’ will be answerable to the Sanhedrin; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ will be liable to fiery Gehenna.
Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar,
and there recall that your brother has anything against you,
leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court. Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge,
and the judge will hand you over to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison.
Amen, I say to you,
you will not be released until you have paid the last penny.
“You have heard that it was said, You shall not commit adultery.
But I say to you, everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna.
And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body go into Gehenna.
“It was also said,
Whoever divorces his wife must give her a bill of divorce.
But I say to you,
whoever divorces his wife—unless the marriage is unlawful—
causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
“Again you have heard that it was said to your ancestors,
Do not take a false oath, but make good to the Lord all that you vow. But I say to you, do not swear at all; not by heaven, for it is God’s throne; nor by the earth, for it is his footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.
Do not swear by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black.
Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’ Anything more is from the evil one.”(Taken from today’s gospel for 6th Sunday A).
2. Today’s gospel is a long one and focuses on the necessity of living beyond the letters of the law. The Law in this context has to do with the commandments of God. Some people saw Jesus as a law breaker but Jesus had to prove that far from breaking the law he comes to show its true meaning and proper application. Today’s gospel singled out three areas where the law was wrongly applied: murder, adultery and lies.
3. While the law prohibits murder and the common understanding about murder was homicide, Jesus went further to show that looking down on people, hatred, conflicts and disrespectful attitudes toward a brother is equal to murder. To those who prided themselves as righteous because they observe the letters of the law and not the spirit, Jesus made a shocking revelation that God does not accept the offering of a person who has no respect for others. He urged them to live in fraternity. “If you are bringing your gift to the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there, go and reconcile with your brother.” Reconciliation is therefore better than sacrifice.
4. On adultery which people simply understood as completed coital act between two persons who are not married to each other, Jesus threw new light. The prohibition of adultery by the law should be seen as going beyond coital embrace between two persons which is only the end point of series of acts which begin from the heart of a person, the inordinate desire to have the the other if opportunity is presented. The guilt of adultery begins therefore with admiring a man or a woman and actively desiring to have sex with the person. In giving this teaching Jesus went beyond the letters of the law to its spirit which aims at preserving purity of heart before the purity of the body.
5. The last element of the law that Jesus focused on in today’s gospel was saying things the way they are. The Scribes emphasize that when there is doubt it becomes necessary to swear an oath. The oath settles everything. For Jesus, a child of God does not need to prove his innocence by swearing. He should live in a way that his yes is nothing but yes. “Say yes when you mean yes and no when you mean no.” By this teaching Jesus shows that the law merely specifies the limit beyond which one is already excluded from the kingdom.
6. Murder, adultery and lies stand out as sins that you should not seek for ways of making them acceptable or manageable in your life. If you want to be free of murder, avoid anger and disrespectful attitudes towards others. If you want to be free of adultery be mindful of your how you look at others and what you watch and read. If you want to be free from lies, make your yes to be yes and your no to be no. The call to obey the law of God is a call to receive blessings of God.
©Vita 12/02/23
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